The flight on Friday was the first non-stop flight I've ever been on, a straight shot from Baton Rouge to Chicago-O'Hare. It's remarkably soothing to know that neither I nor my luggage can possibly miss a connection. From the airport we caught the subway downtown; we had some thought of changing from the Blue Line to the Red Line to get a little bit closer to our hotel, but for one reason or another it didn't work out that way; we walked the seven blocks to the Hilton. As a side note, this is the first time I've gone anywhere and had to carry a suitcase farther than the distance from the terminal to the parking lot, and if I ever have to do that again I'm investing in new luggage with wheels.
It was cold.
We got off to a slow start on Saturday, not helped by a lengthy pause to eat steak and eggs for breakfast. We were initially looking for somewhere to buy a two-day guest pass for the city buses and subway, but as it turned out we learned about a free trolley instead, and used that. We got to the Field Museum before noon, and wandered through the King Tut exhibit for a couple of hours. It was crowded, but fascinating, even though I opted not to rent the audio tour narrated by Omar Sharif; I hate wearing headphones. The exhibit was set up to start well before Tutankhamun and lead up to his time with artifacts predating him; I was kind of bemused to recognize the names of Yuya and his wife Tjuya, who may or may not have been Tut's great-grandparents, from the Expedition board game my grandparents gave me when I was a kid.
After the exhibit we wandered next door to the Shedd Aquarium, and had a lot of fun trying to spot various poison dart frogs in their individual exhibits. It was dark by the time we left, and getting cold again.
A friendly Chicago native on the plane had given my friend some pointers on things to see, and one suggestion was to go to the bar on the 96th floor of the Hancock building one night when the visibility was good, order one drink and enjoy the best panoramic view of the city; but we didn't really want to go out again once we got in for the evening.
Next morning we walked up to Millennium Park to look at the outdoor ice rink; it wasn't open yet, so we crossed the street and had breakfast burritos first. I was there with a friend who is seriously overweight, and she was initially unsure she wanted to try skating, but after a few minutes of watching the skaters I talked her into it. We made one turn around the rink clutching at the railing, then she watched me go around again without hanging on quite so tight. And neither of us fell. I'm quite proud of this accomplishment and made sure to tell everyone at work about it today.
Sunday afternoon we went shopping in an outdoor Christmas market; I bought some candleholders that I didn't really need. We rode the trolley up to the Magnificent Mile shopping district and went up to the Hancock Tower observatory (the 94th floor). Then we rode the trolley back around.
I had hoped to get to Powell's bookstore, but I forgot where to find it. That's the only thing I really missed; I for one didn't have much of a plan for the weekend besides King Tut, so everything was fun. (Edit to add: although I am now sorry that when I saw some people holding up signs that said FREE HUGS while we were waiting for a bus, we didn't go get some. We could have caught the next bus, and you can never have too many hugs.)
Our flight home was delayed about an hour when our plane was grounded for maintenance and they had to find another plane for us to get on. But on the whole it was a great weekend, and warmer than I was afraid it would be; after Friday night the temperatures were pretty reasonable.
Comments (6)
Cold here in Thailand, too. When I woke up this morning, it was only 25C/78F. People were outside with parkas on!
Love the Shedd Aquarium. First saw it with a high school sweetheart on senior class trip in 1972. Saw it again a couple years ago with daughter, then aged 11.
It sounds like a lot of fun -- thanks for sharing it with us.
I think you might not want to hug complete strangers who are holding up signs like that. Would you be able to distinguish with confidence the innocent huggers from those who intended to fondle you lewdly once you got within range?
Of course I've never seen you, but I bet you have charms that are apparent to others, if not to yourself.
I have read that 75% of Americans -- total, all Americans, not just women, so the figure must be a good deal higher for women -- color their hair. If so, then you and I perhaps should get points for not doing so.
Sounds wonderful! I'm so glad you were able to go
Blessings abound